Thursday, March 28, 2013

Context is everything. The arrest of Palestinian Children in Hebron

A lie can make it half way around the world before the truth has a chance to pull on its pants. With so many anti-Israel collaborators willing to aid and abet lies, its no wonder.

The story broke on March 20. Anti-Israel bloggers and tweeters lapped it up, without stopping for a moment to question its veracity. The headlines read "Mass arrest of Palestinian children on their way to school in Hebron"

From B'Tselem:

On the day of the incident B’Tselem wrote to the Legal Advisor in Judea and Samaria, the Legal Advisor of the Israel Police and to the spokesperson for the Judea and Samaria Division regarding this issue. The officials confirmed that, further to a stone-throwing incident earlier that morning, the military apprehended 27 minors, including at least 14 under the age of 12. Later, the military released 20 of the minors to the custody of the Palestinian Authority. The other seven minors were questioned by the police

Preliminary information received this morning by B'Tselem indicates that the army today conducted mass arrests near the area known as route 160 in Hebron. Soldiers detained or arrested over twenty minors on their way to school. About ten of them were released. As is known to B'Tselem at this point, among the children detained by the military are at least five children 8 to 10 years old, with possibly others below the age of criminal responsibility who cannot legally be arrested. Conversations with the Hebron police indicate that some of the children have been taken for interrogation by a youth interrogator.

Why were these children arrested? Here’s the context that was deliberately left out .

If schoolchildren in Oakland, Berkeley or San Francisco attacked local police in this manner, what would happen to them? Do you doubt for a moment that they would be taken into custody?